A Wappingers Falls couple is crediting their dog with saving their lives as a fire tore through their home.

News 12 caught up with the couple who, nearly a year later, are still putting their lives back together, while honoring their late hero dog.

"Every morning when my feet hit the floor, she was there," Natasha Smith said of her pit-boxer mix Penelope. "She would wait for me when I came home, in the window."

Smith said as a fire was filling her rented home on Dutchess Avenue with smoke back on July 5, 2025, at 1 a.m., the smoke detectors did not sound, but Penelope sure did.

Her barking woke up Smith, her fiancé and their other dog, Henry, a golden retriever who was about 1 year old at the time.

The couple, choking on smoke, made it out, along with Henry. But Penelope did not.

"We're running up the driveway," Smith recalled. "All my cars are on fire at this point, and we're both screaming, 'Penelope, Penelope.'"

A friend later recovered Penelope's body so she could be cremated and properly put to rest.

Dutchess County fire investigators wrote in a November 2025 investigation report that a failing power strip in the couple's living room may have started the fire.

Since the fire, the couple has dealt with numerous headaches.

They searched for months until they could find a new rental home across the village, and they are trying to replace all their belongings, including the three cars that were gutted when the fire spread beyond the home.

Smith said she would rather be dealing with the stress than be dead. She thanks Penelope for that.

"She was my girl," Smith said. "They say you have that one 'soul dog,' and she was definitely my soul dog."